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Edmund Duke
|fgcolor= |game=SC1 |image=EdmundDuke SCR Head1.png |imgsize=100px |imgdesc= |race=Terran |birth=c. 2446 |death=September 2500, Korhal IV |gender=Male |eyes=Green |hair=Grey |job=Confederate general (December, 2499–January 1, 2500) Sons of Korhal general (January 1, 2500–March, 2500) Dominion general (March, 2500–) Commander of Alpha Squadron Commander of the Dominion Fleet (March, 2500–) |faction= Terran Confederacy (2459–January 1, 2500) :Old Families (c. 2446–January 1, 2500) ::Duke Family (c. 2446–January 1, 2500) : Alpha Squadron Sons of Korhal (January 1, 2500–March, 2500) Terran Dominion (March, 2500–) :Dominion Fleet :Dominion Defense Force |voice=Jack RitschelGuyWithTheFace01, Chris Metzen, et al. 2009-08-23. BlizzCon 2009 - Starcraft 2 - Lore Panel - Part 4. YouTube. Accessed 2009-08-29. |concattop= }} General Edmund Duke was the Terran Confederacy general in charge of Alpha Squadron. Duke was fifty-three years old when war with the zerg broke out.Underwood, Peter, Bill Roper, Chris Metzen and Jeffrey Vaughn. StarCraft (Manual). Irvine, Calif.: Blizzard Entertainment, 1998. He was a member of the Duke family, one of the famous Old Families of Tarsonis. Biography Early Service Serving as a loyal citizen of the Terran Confederacy and as a member of the Duke Family, Duke had a long military career, a significant portion spent as the leader of Alpha Squadron. It is known that he had defended Tarsonis "in over thirty major battles"Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Mission: The Big Push (in English). 1998. and defeated the Colonial Liberation Army on Tyra Mining Station using "nuked earth tactics."1998-05-29. Divided Factions. StarCraft Compendium Map Archives. Despite his impressive combat record, Duke's ascension through the ranks was slow; he was a captain in his 40s. The reason for this slow ascension was most likely known to only Duke and a select few, said reason likely being "loud, messy and deeply buried in the Confederate military files." Despite this leash, it hardly put a damper on Duke's ambitions.Neilson, Micky (December 18, 2000). StarCraft: Uprising. Simon & Schuster (Pocket Star). ISBN 978-0743-41898-0 (eBook). The Guild Wars In 2485 Duke, a captain within Alpha Squadron, met with Brantigan Fole, commander of the Confederate 33rd Ground Assault Division, on Onuru Sigma. Fole wanted Duke to attack the Noranda Glacier vespene mining complex, operated by the Kel-Morian Combine. He would work alongside another captain, Arcturus Mengsk, head of the 33rd's Dominion section. Duke would hold command authority and would even evaluate Mengsk's unit. The two captains did not get along. Duke was a very aggressive attacker and ignored Mengsk's caution, accusing him of cowardice. He was particularly upset that he couldn't use a siege tank in the hazardous conditions. Taking the majority of the forces with him, they moved into the complex, only to discover it was an ambush. He fought into a strongpoint and called Mengsk to rescue him. Mengsk's forces moved in more cautiously, fighting their own battle until they could create a corridor to escort Duke out. During the fighting, Confederate Wraith strafing set the entire complex ablaze. Massive numbers of Kel-Morian Combine troops and battlecruisers then approached the scene – the Guild Wars were officially declared. During the Confederate retreat a transport was destroyed; Mengsk was disappointed that Duke survived the rescue. Uprising In 2491, not long after the destruction of Korhal, Duke, now with the rank of colonel, was ordered to be on the lookout for a lost ghost. He came across a rebel ship, and upon its status being clarified, he engaged it with the Norad II. He sent a boarding party into the rebel ship, along with a ghost. As it was, the ship belonged to the rebel group the Sons of Korhal, who, under General Arcturus Mengsk, managed to damage the Norad II enough to escape through warp space. The ghost he sent was killed shortly afterwards. In short, the encounter had been a complete failure, Duke being shaken in the experience and his ambitions of being promoted reduced. The Great War The Sara System In late 2499, the Norad II was assigned to patrol the space in and around the Sara System. Still a colonel,Blizzard Entertainment Staff. 2007-11-21. The Story so Far... Part 1: StarCraft. Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed 2007-11-21. albeit one "way overdue for his general's stars" Duke personally joined in the fighting at Chau Sara against the zerg, partaking in the reclamation of Los Andares and the assault against the zerg's primary hive cluster. While these initial efforts were successful, the zerg onslaught quickly intensified.StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Mission: Precursor bonus campaign, mission 4: "Force of Arms" (in English). 1998-09-03. Map Archives: Precursor Campaign.StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Mission: Precursor bonus campaign, mission 5: "Extermination" (in English). 1998-09-03. Map Archives: Precursor Campaign. Duke and his forces pulled out before the zerg could conquer the entire planet. Duke's forces enacted a clumsy counterattack against the protoss fleet after they purified Chau Sara. Executor Tassadar withdrew out of respect for Duke's courage. The clumsy counterattack was declared a success. Duke oversaw Alpha Squadron's efforts to lock down the planet of Mar Sara in the wake of the protoss attack on Chau Sara and the appearance of the zerg on Mar Sara and relayed to the Colonial Magistrate the orders to relocate core colonists to the outlying wasteands.Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Mission: Wasteland (in English). 1998. During the conflict Duke's stance was questionable, avoiding action against the aliens, failing to rescue troops besieged by them: when the Zerg attacked the Backwater Station he ordered the Magistrate to "sit tight" as they will take care of the problem and will notify the Magistrate according to their judgment. This forced Marshal Jim Raynor and local militia forces to take action, but Duke arrested them for destroying an infested Confederate installation. The Magistrate launched a complaint, but Duke rebuffed him. Duke and his Confederate allies arrested standing militia forces, then departed the planet as the situation began to escalate. Another Conflict with Mengsk During the Great War, Duke clashed with Sons of Korhal leader Arcturus Mengsk at the Battle of Brontes.Golden, Christie (November 27, 2007). StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga #2: Shadow Hunters. Simon & Schuster (Pocket Star). ISBN 978-0-7434-7126-8. The colonists of Antiga Prime were ready to openly revolt against the Confederacy, so Duke and his Alpha Squadron were given the task of suppressing the revolt. The rebels were surrounded by Confederate troops and an officer was put in charge of the rebel command center. The officer was assassinated by Lieutenant Sarah Kerrigan, who just as quickly recruited the rebels to their cause and went on to defeat the Alpha Squadron detachment.Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Mission: Revolution (in English). 1998. Transfer of Loyalties The planet was soon beset by the zerg. During a high orbit attack the Norad II was crippled by themBlizzard Entertainment. StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Cinematic: The Downing of Norad II. (in English). 1998. and crashed into the planet. General Duke – having been promoted sometime after confronting the protoss – survived the crash and sent out a distress signal. While the Alpha Squadron forces stationed nearby attempted to rescue him, they were stymied by the zerg. The Sons of Korhal arrived, striking an alliance with Alpha Squadron. Together they rescued Duke. Mengsk convinced him to join the Sons of Korhal, signaling a huge victory for them in their war against the Confederates. Duke was granted a position in Mengsk's cabinet,Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Mission: Norad II (in English). 1998. and assisted the Sons of Korhal in conquering Tarsonis. He personally led Alpha Squadron in an attack against the central space platform defended by the Confederate Omega and Delta Squadrons in order to cause enough of a "ruckus" (in Duke's own words) to allow a small force to break through the planetary defenses. Duke's forces also installed and activated psi emitters on the platform, attracting billions of zerg to the planet. This action alienated Raynor and Kerrigan.Edmund Duke: "This is Duke. The Emitters are secured and on-line." Sarah Kerrigan: "Who authorized the use of Psi Emitters?" Arcturus Mengsk: "I did, Lieutenant." Kerrigan: "What? The Confederates on Antiga were bad enough, but now you're going to use the Zerg against an entire planet? This is insane." Jim Raynor: "She's right, man. Think this through." Mengsk: "I have thought it through, believe me. You all have your orders. Carry them out." StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Level/area: The Big Push (in English). 1998. Raynor and Duke got into a brawl, with Raynor coming up the winner, having broken Duke's gun arm. Duke sought permission from Mengsk to take an unspecified revenge against Raynor, to no avail. Mengsk sent Sarah Kerrigan on mission to prevent the protoss from attacking the zerg, leaving the zerg free to destroy the population of Tarsonis. Kerrigan defeated the protoss and requested evacuation, but Mengsk did not respond. This action severed the ties between Raynor and Mengsk.Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Mission: New Gettysburg (in English). 1998. Jim Raynor attempted to rescue Kerrigan, but was ambushed by General Duke and a team of neurally resocialized marines who had activated their stimpacks. Reporter Michael Liberty, who before had felt he could not shoot a human being, injured Duke. The stabilization medicines in Duke's suit caused him to pass out, so he could not give the order for his marines to attack Raynor. Raynor and Liberty were able to escape. In order to prevent Raynor from fleeing Tarsonis, Duke activated the Ion cannon. Raynor was forced to destroy the cannon in order to escape.Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Mission: The Hammer Falls (in English). 1998. The New Dominion Duke became a general in the Terran Dominion. In the opinion of Kerrigan, he was the real tactician in the new empire, despite Mengsk's impressive military resume.Kerrigan: "Without the services of General Duke, Mengsk will be easy to deal with." StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Level/area: True Colors (in English). 1998. With Duke by his side, Mengsk was unopposed by any of the major terran militias within the Koprulu sector.Underwood, Peter, Chris Metzen and Bill Roper. StarCraft: Brood War (Manual). Irvine, Calif.: Blizzard Entertainment, 1998. One of Duke's acts as a Dominion general was to capture Nova Station, which had been abandoned by Nova Squadron, in order to gain valuable information.1998-07-24. Nova Station. StarCraft Compendium Map Archives. After his defection from the Sons of Korhal, Jim Raynor and his militia, the Raynor's Raiders, sought transports. They traveled to the Dylarian Shipyards, where ships are commonly held in dry-dock; General Duke was waiting for them in the Hyperion. Duke's forces were hampered by the close quarters and fear of destroying his own ships, whereas Raynor's Raiders had fewer worries. They used the docking arms to grapple the Hyperion and invaded it, leaving Duke tied up.Rosenberg, Aaron (May 23, 2006). StarCraft: Queen of Blades. Simon & Schuster (Pocket Star). ISBN 978-0-7434-7133-6. While Kerrigan was being infested by the zerg, she psychically called to Mengsk from Char.Kerrigan: "While I was in the Chrysalis, I instinctively reached out to you and Arcturus telepathically." StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Level/area: Agent of the Swarm (in English). 1998. Duke was sent to retrieve her, later on ordering his troops not to have any more slip-ups like before (e.g. letting Raynor escape with the Hyperion and failing to defend the Ion cannon) though the battle turned into a disaster, and Duke ordered his men to fall back,Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Mission: The New Dominion (in English). 1998. forced to abandon their beachhead and retreat into orbit. Not long afterwards, Raynor arrived at the Char system, and the two verbally sparred, Raynor rubbing in Duke's failure on the surface. In the exchange, Duke revealed that he'd also come to retrieve Kerrigan. Raynor deployed his forces, and not to be outdone, Duke deployed forces of his own. Raynor fared little better, and the zerg, under Kerrigan's direction (who'd re-emerged as an agent of the Overmind), appropriated his shuttles to board the Amerigo and other Raider/Alpha Squadron ships in orbit. In desperation, Raynor contacted Duke, begging for him to help clear out the ships of the zerg, even offering up himself. Duke reveled in Raynor's despair, and refused to come to his aid. He left the Char system in the Norad III alongside only one other ship, as the remaining terran ships in orbit bar the Hyperion were overrun by the zerg. A Return to Char In the last days of the Great War, Duke returned to Char with a small Dominion Fleet force. Protoss forces engaging the zerg drew the fleet into the conflict, one that Duke escalated'Duke:' "Protoss Commander, this is General Edmund Duke of the Terran Dominion Armada. You are in violation of our air-space and have endangered human lives in your reckless attack against the Zerg. I order you to withdraw your ships immediately. If you fail to comply, I will not hesitate to open fire upon your vessels." Tassadar: "General Duke, I am Tassadar, and you are well known to me. Whatever leniency I extended to you and your comrades before, may have been in error. If you persist in halting our course, we will burn your pathetic fleet down to the last man." Duke: "I'm going to have to assume that was a hostile response..." StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Level/area: Choosing Sides (in English). 1998. His forces lost this battle as well and eventually pulled out of the planet.Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Mission: Choosing Sides (in English). 1998. Bhekar Ro By the aftermath of the Great War, Arcturus Mengsk still did not entirely trust the sincerity of Duke's loyalty and used the crisis on Bhekar Ro to send the general away. Duke led Alpha Squadron to secure the planet and the strange artifact from the protoss and zerg. The description of the first human encounter with the artifact led Duke to muse that its research might reveal a new way to disable vehicles. While ultimately victorious much of his force was destroyed,Mesta, Gabriel (July 1, 2001). StarCraft: Shadow of the Xel'Naga. Simon & Schuster (Pocket Star). ISBN 978-0671-04149-6. not to mention that he was stranded in the planet for months until Dominion transports arrived.Golden, Christie (May 22, 2007). StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga #1: Firstborn. Simon & Schuster (Pocket Star). ISBN 978-0-7434-7125-1. The Brood War The Iron Fist The United Earth Directorate's Expeditionary Force came to the sector, striking an alliance with the Confederate Resistance Forces led by Lieutenant Samir Duran. The two forces quickly captured the city of Boralis, Braxis.Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: First Strike (in English). 1998. Using the codes, they gained access to Arcturus Mengsk's secret files,Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: The Dylarian Shipyards (in English). 1998. including Arcturus Mengsk's schedule. Mengsk was traveling to Umoja, six months after his inauguration as emperor of the Terran Dominion and also for personal reasons. He took a fleet of ships commanded by Duke with him. Umojan diplomat Ailin Pasteur wouldn't allow the capital ships to approach beyond the outer shipping markers, and Mengsk had to descend in an obsolete gun cutter. Confederate forces led by Mengsk's old instructor Angelina Emillian attacked while Mengsk was vulnerable, and they used a Cassandra scrambler to cut off communication between Mengsk and the local Protectorate forces and Duke's fleet. Ignoring Umojan instructions, Duke moved his fleet to Mengsk's location. Mengsk held off the attackers long enough for Duke to make a "heroic rescue". The Dominion became aware of the UED attacks but didn't know who they were. The UED took over the Dylarian Shipyards, stealing numerous battlecruisers. Duke counterattacked with the Dominion Armada, but was defeated. After that, Duke withdrew his forces from the quadrant,Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: Ruins of Tarsonis (in English). 1998. falling back to Korhal. He was presumably present on the Norad III in the aftermath of Augustgrad's fall to the UED, saved from capture at the last moment by Raynor's Raiders and a group of protoss who saved them via dimensional recallBlizzard Entertainment. StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: Emperor's Fall (in English). 1998. to Aiur. This period allowed some relaxation, such as becoming acquainted with the protoss sport of Pro Bowl,StarCraft 64. Vivendi Games. Mission: Pro Bowl (in English). 2000 but with the UED's pursuit forcing the fugitives to escape Aiur, it wasn't to last.Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: Emperor's Flight (in English). 1998. True Colors In order to retake Korhal and free the sector from the UED, Mengsk fell into an alliance with Kerrigan, Raynor and Fenix.Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: Reign of Fire (in English). 1998. Mengsk sent Duke to establish his base of operations in Augustgrad.Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: The Liberation of Korhal (in English). 1998. While his men were resting, they were attacked by zerg led by Kerrigan. Kerrigan, who had always wanted to have him killed, admitted that she was excited about this. On board the Norad III, Duke stood his ground, but the ship was destroyed, taking its commander with it.Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft: Brood War. Vivendi Games. Mission: True Colors (in English). 1998. Game Unit StarCraft |fgcolor= |game=SC1 |image= EdmundDuke SC1 HeadAnim1.gif|SC1 EdmundDuke SCR HeadAnim.gif|SCR Duke Cartooned Portrait1.gif|Cartooned |image2= EdmundDuke SC1 Game1.png|SC1 EdmundDuke SCR Game1.png|SCR DukeTank Cartooned Game1.JPG|Cartooned |race=Terran |faction= Terran Confederacy : Alpha Squadron |campname=''Precursor'' |gender= |birth= |commission= |firstsight= |death= |destroyed= |retired= |lastsight= |role= |baseunit= |owners= |captains= |namedcrew= |armorname= |hp=400 |shield= |energy= |size=Large |supply= |cost_min= |cost_gas= |buildtime= |produced= |req= |hotkey= |useguns=Arclite cannon |airattack= |armor=3 |range= |sight=8 |detect= |gun1name=Arclite Cannon |gun1strength=70 |gun1attacks= |gun1ground=x |gun1air= |gun1cool=37 |gun1range=7 |gun1upgrd=+3 |gun2name=Arclite Shock Cannon |gun2strength=150 |gun2attacks= |gun2ground=x |gun2air= |gun2cool=75 |gun2range=12 |gun2upgrd=+5 |hero=x |npc= |nocat= }} General Duke appears as a hero unit commanding the Norad II, a with a higher attack damage but lower number of hit points than the Hyperion. Duke in the Norad II appears in "The Big Push" and "True Colors." Duke as a personal hero unit appears in StarCraft: Precursor and StarCraft Secret Missions operating a . In this form he has much more power than a normal siege tank, especially in siege mode, where he deals 150 damage, the most powerful normal attack in StarCraft not counting special abilities. Abilities Upgrades Quotations :See: Edmund Duke Quotations Heroes of the Storm Duke was considered as a replacement for Horace Warfield as the game's siege tank hero. However, his role was taken by Sergeant Hammer.2013-11-11, Heroes of the Storm: Sixen Interviews Dustin Browder. YouTube, accessed on 2013-12-01 Personality and Traits Somewhat gung-ho, Duke despised all non-humans on general principleMesta, Gabriel (July 1, 2001). StarCraft: Shadow of the Xel'Naga. Simon & Schuster (Pocket Star). ISBN 0-671-04149-5. and was prejudiced against Fringe Worlders.McNeill, Graham (December 30, 2008). StarCraft: I, Mengsk. Simon & Schuster (Pocket Star). ISBN 1416-55083-6.Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft. Vivendi Games. Mission: Desperate Alliance (in English). 1998. Broad shouldered and radiating authority, Duke possessed an impressive physique, though gave some people the impression of a shaved gorilla.Grubb, Jeff (February 27, 2001). StarCraft: Liberty's Crusade. Simon & Schuster (Pocket Star). ISBN 978-0671-04148-9. Raynor considered Duke to be akin to a "rabid dog," as Mengsk often had to keep Duke on a leash lest he ruin his superior's plans with a mindless charge. Still, Kerrigan had a high opinion of Duke's tactical acumen, and even Raynor admitted that Duke was "a good man in a fight." He was an experienced commander and general, although specialized in fighting on even battlefields, and was not used to unorthodox combat situations. Trivia *General Duke's character seems to be paralleled with real life western and war movie star John Wayne, who was also nicknamed "the Duke". Both have similar mannerisms, speech and hard-boiled personalities, which Wayne tended to display in most of his movies. As well, Edmund's character design bears some resemblance to John Wayne. *Duke may also have been inspired by General George Patton. Both were known for their professionalism and tough-as-nails approach to command, as well as being bigoted and devoid of a sense of humor. *At times, Duke's lines are at odds with what is known of him in-universe. In StarCraft: Precursor, Duke retains his special quote where he insults the player for being ordered around by the Sons of Korhal, despite being a member of the Confederacy at the time. Additionally, he will exclaim "been a general for fifteen years." However, various novel installments have retconned this claim, instead demonstrating a slower rise through the ranks. *Duke is a character in the April Fool's game Strat Blaster with Edmund Duke.Blizzard Entertainment. 2012-03-31. Blizzard Kidzz. Blizzard Entertainment Accessed 2012-04-01. *In earlier versions of StarCraft II, the mercenary battlecruiser "Jackson's Revenge" was originally named "Duke's Revenge," ostensibly in tribute to Duke. *In StarCraft, Duke has green eyes, but in StarCraft: Remastered, Duke's eyes are erroneously changed to be grey. References es:Edmund Duke Category:Terran characters in the StarCraft and Brood War manuals Category:Terran characters in StarCraft and Brood War Duke, General Edmund Category:Terran map and web characters Category:Terran marines Category:Old Family characters Category:People of Tarsonis Category:Terran ship crew Category:Terran characters in Precursor Category:Terran characters of Uprising Category:Terran characters of Liberty's Crusade Category:Terran characters of Shadow of the Xel'Naga Category:Terran characters of Queen of Blades